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Bill Nye 'The Science Guy' Aims to Help Students Get a Jumpstart on College

Bill Nye "The Science Guy" has partnered with social education platform Sophia.org on a new program designed to encourage high school students to get a head start on their college educations.

Sophia has launched "Get Schooled with Bill Nye," a program in which high schoolers can take college courses -- online, at no charge -- through the Web site and receive college credit. Students who complete a course through Sophia's Pathways for College Credit will be eligible to enter a contest for a chance to appear in a video with the veteran science educator and TV personality.

"For 20 years I've been encouraging students to think outside the box when it comes to science," said Nye in a prepared statement. "Now, I'm challenging students to use that same thinking when it comes to their college education by researching options and building a plan that will work for them."

Students who want to participate in the contest need to "complete one course through Sophia's Pathways for College Credit and submit a short 140-character entry about why they want to meet Bill Nye." Deadline to register is December 2, 2013. Students have until January 15, 2014 to finish all coursework.

Sophia hosts more than 36,000 tutorials, on a range of academic subjects, as well as free resources that students can use to prepare for college including, "ACT test prep; College Prep Pathways in algebra, statistics and biology; and College Success Skills to help students navigate the college experience." The site also offers college courses -- for $329 per course --through its Sophia Pathways for College Credit program.

Additional information about "Getting Schooled with Bill Nye" is available online.

About the Author

Kanoe Namahoe is online editor for 1105 Media's Education Group. She can be reached at [email protected].

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